Improvement in book-cases



U ITED STATES PATEN OFFICE.

WILLIAM HOMES, OF BOSTON,-MASSAGHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WARREN HOMES, or SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN BOOK-CASES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 182,669, dated September 26, 1876; application filed June 5, 1876.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HoMEs, of Boston, in the county of Sufi'olk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Portable Book-Gases; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention is an improvement in portable book-oases, by means of which the bookcase, when put together, may be firmly locked, so that it cannot come apart, and, when to be taken to pieces for packing or other purposes, can be instantaneously unlocked, so that the different parts may be removed with ease.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a view, in perspective, of the rear portion of a portable book-case embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section, showing the operation of the slide by means of which the de vice is looked and unlocked, and also the grooved back-board, which sets over the panels without bolts or screws. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same, showing the case unlocked and partly taken to pieces.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

a represents the back-board, grooved underneath, so as to set over the panels I) without the use of nails, screws, or bolts, being kept in place by my fastening device. 0 is the bottom; 61, the pins; 6, the top; ff, the sides, and g g the shelves, constructed, in and of themselves considered, substantially as common.

The book-case is made to be put together without bolts or screws by means of the locking device, which I will now describe.

Placed in the sides f, behind the panels I), are slides h, extending for nearly the entire length of the sides, and arranged to be moved up and down by means of the knobs h. From the lower end of each of these slides h projects a hook, it, which fits over and upon a catch, 70, extending from the under side of the bottom 0. Placed near the upper end of each slide h, near the top of the book-case, directly under the back-board a, is a box, 1,

containing an elbow or bell-crank lever, m, pivoted to the box l at its elbow. One end of this lever passes into or through an opening in the slide h, and the other end terminates in a hook, which catches in the hook it attached to the back-board a. The box I is connected with the slide h by means of a spiral spring, 10. 0 0 are rests swinging from pins, which connect their upper ends to the slides It.

In practical operation my locking device operates as follows: When the book-case is to be taken apart, the pins cl (which may be dispensed with, if desired) are removed, and the slides h are drawn down by means of the knobs h. The rests 0 then swing over the knobs h and prevent their springing back. WVhen the slidesf are drawn down the books 7c are carried down with them, thus releasing the catch k and allowing the bottom 0 to be removed. The lower end of the elbow-lever m is also drawn down with the slide h, thus releasing the hook n and allowing the backboard a to be removed and the rest of the book-case to be taken to pieces. Thus it will be seen that the book-case is unlocked, so that it can be taken entirely to pieces at a single downward motion of each slide.

Figs. 1 and 2 represent the position of the slides when the book-case is in a condition for use, and Fig. 3 their position when it is taken apart.

To lock the device, after placing the parts of the case in position, as in Figs. 1 and 2, merely release the knobs h by swinging out the rests 0, and the springs 12 draw up the slides, hooking the hooks it upon the catches It" and the hooked levers m over the hooks n, and the case is locked securely.

As soon as the grooved back-board a (which is the last piece placed into position when the book-case is put together) is pressed down over the panels I), the hook upon the lever m and the book a catch, and the case is instantly locked, provided, of course, that the knobs h are free.

No bolts, nails, or screws are needed, and

the pins cl may be entirely done away with, as

the case, when locked, is perfectly solid and strong.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

' 1. The slides h, provided with knobs or han dles h, in combination with the levers m, each provided with a hook at its upper end, and the hook n upon the back-board a, for the purpose of looking a portable book-case, sub.- stantially as herein described.

2. In combination with a portable bookcase, the slides h, provided with the knobs or handles h and hooks k, and the bottom 0, provided with the hooks It, all substantially as and for the purpose above set forth.

3. The combination of the slides h, provided with the knobs h and hooks k, and the levers m and rests 0, substantially as and for the purpose before specified.

, l 7 WILLIAM HOMES.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. WILLIAMS, It: A. GEORGE. 

